Cranberry extract to improve microbiota and combat cardiometabolic diseases.

Cranberries and berries provide many health benefits, mainly due to their high polyphenol content in the form of tannins. They also contain high concentrations of oligosaccharides, small fibers, which contribute to their biological activity.

A research team led by Yves Desjardins, professor at the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, showed that polyphenols and oligosaccharides present in cranberry extract stimulate, among other things, the growth of bacteria. Bifidobacteriumassociated with a reduced risk of diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases.

“Typically, the growth of these bacteria is stimulated by the consumption of dietary fiber. We observed the same effect with cranberry extract, but at a dose almost 20 times lower,” emphasizes Jacob Lessard-Lord, researcher at INAF.

Cranberry extract also stimulates bacteria. Akkermansia mucinifilawhich plays an important role in the intestinal lining, helping to reduce inflammation and strengthen the intestinal barrier.

It is especially interesting to counteract the harmful effects of the North American diet. “This diet alters the microbiota, causes inflammation of the mucous membrane and disrupts the integrity of the intestinal barrier, which plays a critical role in protecting the body from bacteria present in the intestines. An alteration of the intestinal barrier that allows the passage of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) derived from the gut microbiota, known as metabolic endotoxemia, is a critical factor in the initiation and progression of inflammation and metabolic diseases,” explains Yves Desjardins.

“Persistent inflammation resulting from the presence of LPS in the body is a precursor to a number of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” the professor emphasizes.

Cranberry extract included in a balanced diet may alter the inflammatory pathway and improve the prognosis of chronic diseases. Stimulating bacteria Akkermansia mucinifila and bifidobacteria, the microbiota regenerates and recreates an anti-inflammatory environment. This leads to tightening of connections between the cells of the intestinal barrier and its strengthening.

In the experiment, nearly forty people recruited from INAF were required to consume a cranberry supplement in capsule form morning and evening, equivalent to consuming 60g of fresh cranberries. Plasma, urine, and stool samples were collected at the beginning of the experiment and at the end of the four-day period. The human study builds on promising results from the SHIME in vitro system, which mimics areas of the intestine.

Now the research team wants to determine the long-term effects of the extract. “They promise to see a positive effect in just four days,” says Jacob Lessard-Lord.

Although cranberry had a beneficial effect on all participants, the results revealed variability in their response. Future research will help identify microbiota traits that respond best to the extract.

The study was conducted within the NSERC-Symrise Industrial Research Chair on the prebiotic effects of fruit and vegetable polyphenols (PhenoBio+). Symrise has also released a product based on the team’s findings, Prebiocrane, which has been approved in Europe.

The study was published in a scientific journal npj Biofilms and microbiomes. The signatories are Jacob Lessard-Lord, Charlene Roussel, Joseph Lupien-Meyer, Pamela Generet, Véronique Richard, Valérie Guay, Denis Roy and Yves Desjardins.